Balazs Gyutai, the man behind the 9b0 moniker was among the first producers in Hungary who went beyond the narrow-minded, almost academic approach to electronic genres. His insatiable desire to find his own voice dates back to childhood when he started developing music softwares with his brother. By the start of the 2000’s he created tracks with nothing else but his own editor and virtual synths. Now he works for Native Instruments as a sound designer. Not a surprise at all.
His first full length Error was released in 2010 full of opposing elements arranged precisely to counterpoint each other, from thunderous nu-skool basslines to noble post-symphonic melodies, all under the umbrella of the ever-mutating glitch. The world had to wait for the follow-up for six long years: Eleven is a masterfully sculpted album that was born in the similar manner but walked down on a different path.
“During all these years I changed - so did my music. I kept sticking to the pure, unadulterated electronica but picked up a different perspective to it” - said 9b0 himself who, thanks to his perfectionist attitude, reworked the tracks and pimped up the synths several times along the way. Just like its predecessor, the final output cannot be categorized but it also plays with harsh contrasts that are smoothed away eventually: sometimes the music levitates in monumental, pristine spaces, then compresses into a small room zigzagged by lasers; at one moment you catch a glimpse of the minimal Berlin, but after a minute you are already listening to a nostalgic piano. But you don’t have to choose - you only have to immerse yourself.
Eleven is the third release on Selected Sounds label after Iamyank’s solo album and the Budapest Selected compilation.